I ate up the cover story on The New York Times’ Home Section today; “The Classics, Circa 2050.” For one thing, I’m always trying to determine what the new classics are (i.e. new furniture that will eventually gain icon status, today’s equivalent of a mid-century icon like a Wegner Wishbone Chair or an Eames Shell Chair). Beyond aesthetics and one’s own judgement, a sign that a piece may be well on its way to icon status is if it’s a part of a museum’s collection. Another when prominent architects choose to use it in their own homes.

Anyway, I was very pleased to see a handful of my favorite products that Design Public carries made the cut. Here they are:

Nobody asked me, by the way! But I’m asking you – Which recent furniture and accessories do you think will achieve icon status in 30 years? Keep in mind the process can involve becoming unpopular or passé for a decade or three and then re-appreciated later. Personally, I have trouble looking beyond chairs and lighting most of the time.

This week’s flickr fave comes from flickr member hindsvik. Antique stores have been chock full of card catalogs ever since computer monitor have become the main storage for the Dewey Decimal System. It’s kind of sad really, that today’s kids will never have the experience of flipping through index cards and actually understanding alphabetical order, but the good news is, they make for great home decor items. I love the contrast of these two colors and styles of card catalogs here – it works like a sculpture. This is the epitome of “vintage modern” style!

Ahh, Spring. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the weather is prefect for sitting out on your deck or patio. If you’re like me, still using those butterfly camp chairs to enjoy the outdoors, it might be time for an upgrade. Luckily our newest designer, Kartell, has you covered! Be the envy of all of your neighbors with the Kartell Dr. NA Table and matching Dr. NO Chairs. Available in a variety of mix-and-matchable colors and made to withstand the weather, they are a perfect fit for your modern outdoor space.

Some of you may have been as stunned as I was when Eileen Gray’s Dragon Chair went for $28 million at the Yves Saint Laurent auction a year ago. While I find this figure rather ridiculous, I glean a lot of inspiration from my latest book acquisition, EILEEN GRAY. I’m also seeing some of the roots of Kelly Wearstler’s latest Bravura Modern phase (I’ve been trying to understand that since that Domino with her pool house in it came out). Now I am starting to see it everywhere!

You are probably more familiar with the Eileen Gray side table. They use it on practically every episode of HGTV’s The Stagers (I love that show, Canadian accents are the greatest, eh?):

My latest inspirations have come from her early play with geometry, namely the squares and rectangles she seemed to embrace before she got into curves. The following are from her lacquer phase:

Her Bilboquet Table: I love those Jenga-like legs!:

This woman was rocking tassels on her Lotus Table before Jonathan Adler’s parents, maybe even his grandparents, were even born:

You know, this post is going to get to darn long. I think I’ll stop here before Monday is over and continue showing you some treats from the fabulous Ms. Gray next Monday!

We are totally digging the designs over at dylan gold this week. Everything they make forces you to think “Hmmph, check out that little twist” or “Ha! That’s clever!” or “Why didn’t I think of that?” However, the piece that gives us the environmentally friendly happy glow is the one that reuses waste pieces of wood and puts them together into a beautiful piece of furniture. The Wasted #1 and Wasted #2 coffee tables are modern and clean, yet they pulled together from a patchwork of scraps, which is very apparent. It’s a great dichotomy. I also like the idea that each one they make will be dictated by which pieces they collect, and thus will be unique. There’s nothing like having a piece of furniture that no one else will ever have.

Wasted #2

Wasted #2

Wasted #1

Wasted #1

What makes it green? Materials may vary, but those shown are Europly, Marine ply, exotic and domestic hardwoods – scrap pieces that would otherwise have wound up in a landfill.
It is coated in water-based polyurethane.

For more information on where to buy and to see the entire collection, click here.

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"I just discovered your site yesterday (and I'm already ordering from it!) I even forwarded it on to a friend. I was giving up on finding bedding that I liked, so it's nice to know there are others out there who appreciate a mod(ern) sensibility. And your rugs are too die for!"